There is another video of then doing the same set a few months after they did this one where they do even more funny things, but the woman who shot it was laughing loudly the whole time so you can't hear them as well. But they seem to have a great sense of humor about it all, and are quite talented!

After deciding to skip Maelstrom thanks to its long line I looked at the time and realized it was already past 3:30pm. I knew I had to get in line for my 5pm Candelight Processional showing soon, so I headed in that direction. I was on a mission, so the only pictures I got were ones taken by a PP in Italy. The pictures are not that great as I was staring directly into the sun and didnt put on my sunglasses this time, but here they are. First is my camera, second is PP.

I grabbed a gelato as I left Italy (it was quite yummy!) then headed over to American Adventure and stopped to talk to a CM and ask about the line for those with the pass. I was told to pull the paper off the back of my pass and stick it to my shirt and directed to the end of the line. I decided to take a picture of the sign for the CP, then the CM, Ken, asked if I wanted his picture too (being funny), so I said yes and took one of him with the sign too!

As I walked to the end of the line the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corp show was starting in America where they present the flags and have the little kids march around. I took a couple of quick pictures as I walked past them.

And a couple pictures of Santas Village as I walked past too. I looked more in it later, but didnt buy anything.

I finally made it to the end of the line and took my place around 3:55pm. The CM walking around said they would start letting everyone in around 4:30pm. I, only with everyone around me, wondered how they were going to get everyone in and settled in less then 30 minutes. Why did I wonder that? Because the line was quite long already, and more people were joining it every second. Here is what was to my right from my spot in line:

Yes, that is Japan.

I chatted with the people around me for a while so I didnt get any more pictures. The drummers were also playing in Japan while I waited, so that was nice too. I could barely see them from where I was and all of the people around me, so no pictures of them either. By 4:15pm the line for those with guaranteed seating passes was from the entrance of the theater all the way back to the bridge between France and England. A lot of people were asking the CMs around the line if they were sure everyone would fit, but they didnt seem concerned at all. I had seen the stand-by line as I walked over and knew that there were already several hundred people in that line too.

At 4:25pm they started letting everyone in the guaranteed line in. And the CM was right, as the line moved very quickly and I was in the theater by 4:34pm. I walked to the front rows first as they were still pretty empty, but soon realized I would have a really bad angle from that close and moved about half-way up. I managed to snag a seat almost dead center too, which was great.

My view of the stage:

And that is without zooming. I did take a few pictures of the theater while everyone was still coming in and the band first came on stage to take their places.

The conductor was actually quite funny, made a few jokes during their practice and even pretended to be Mickey in Fantasia for a bit. He did funny faces and little bits during the show too, but nothing that took away from the show itself. It was obvious he enjoys his job. They practiced for about 5 minutes up there, so I took a few shots of that too.

Then the singers all took their places, as did the gentleman translating the show for a group that was hearing impaired that was there.

Around 4:50pm the guaranteed line was done coming in, and the back row was still empty so about 30 people from the standby line made it in too. One of the CMs walking around talked to me for a bit and said this was the busiest night so far that year, and that she had worked CP the year before and it was busier than those nights too.

At pretty much exactly 5pm Whoopi Goldberg was escorted to the stage to a standing ovation. She started out by saying how very happy she was to be back for this event (this was her first night and first performance for this year) and then she got started. For those that have never been and dont know how CP works, the narrator (in this case Whoopi) reads a bit of the story of Jesuss birth (not direct Bible quotes, but the same story as it) then the chorus sings a song that fits in where she stopped, then she read more, they sang, and so on and so on.

To be honest I was so into the whole thing that I didnt take a ton of pictures, though I did take some, so here they are!

I did get a short video too, mostly because during the fast songs Whoopi was bopping and dancing to the music and it was pretty funny. If I ever remember to upload it to YouTube Ill post as link here so you can see it, and hear how wonderful the singers were!

Overall I very much enjoyed it, and Whoopi was fantastic. I want to say it was about 45 minutes long, and they sang about a dozen songs. I am definitely happy I did it, and would do it again on a future trip.

I would love to see Whoopi! She is awesome, and from what I've heard pretty down to earth and nice. We saw her on the Wed after in the new FLE filming promos or something... Loving your TR- you are so good at updating it! I really love all your pics too!

Great pictures from the Candlelight Processional. We chose not to do it this year. Maybe I'll get to it someday!

We saw people on Saturday morning at about 11 am already lined up in the Standby line! I couldn't imagine waiting that long in line.

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You definitely need to do it one trip, but do the package so you don't have to wait in the standby line. Apparently the line usually starts that early, and many of those in the standby line won't get in.

I would love to see Whoopi! She is awesome, and from what I've heard pretty down to earth and nice. We saw her on the Wed after in the new FLE filming promos or something... Loving your TR- you are so good at updating it! I really love all your pics too!

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Whoopi was awesome! She made several jokes and thanked the crowd several times. One of the CMs said she is the favorite (along with NPH) of the CMs that handle the narrators as she is so nice and really enjoys doing CP and appreciates it.

Cool that you saw her a few days later doing promos! And thank you very much for the compliment! I love taking pictures and doing the updates, helps me remember the trip so I don't miss WDW as much!

I went into Santa's Village too but did not buy anything. This year I might get more pieces to my Disney village set.

Your pictures of the CP are wonderful. I don't know a lot about it since this was our first Christmas trip. How much does it cost? How far in advance did you book? Do you know in advance who the narrators are?

I went into Santa's Village too but did not buy anything. This year I might get more pieces to my Disney village set.

Your pictures of the CP are wonderful. I don't know a lot about it since this was our first Christmas trip. How much does it cost? How far in advance did you book? Do you know in advance who the narrators are?

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The packages vary in price, depending on which restaurant you chose. The package is a full meal (appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage OR full buffet if you pick a restaurant with one) of lunch or dinner, guaranteed seating in the theater for CP and entrance to a special seating area for Illuminations (which is coming up in my TR). This year the Lunch packages were $33-$56 per person and Dinner were $50-$67. You can use the Dining Plan for it too. Deluxe or Standard Plan's you use 2 TS credits per person, Platinum or Premium use 1 TS credit per person.

There are 3 showings of CP per day: 5pm, 6:45pm and 8:30pm. Which time you want impacts what time your meal will be.

This past year the packages went on sale in June, but I got mine about 3 weeks beforehand with a lot of availability still left.

They do announce ahead of time on WDW's website who the narrators are on which days so you can plan accordingly. They are subject to change, as 2 narrators dropped out in November this past year and they had to replace them, but in general that doesn't happen.

Let me know if you have any other questions! Or check this site, which lists all of the information for 2012, so it will be similar for 2013 and beyond:

Wow! I bet you were glad that you had booked the package. That line sounds horrendous. Wow #2! The CP looks and sounds wonderful! If only I could convince the family to give up getting Christmas gifts so I could go to Disney World at Christmas.

Wow! I bet you were glad that you had booked the package. That line sounds horrendous. Wow #2! The CP looks and sounds wonderful! If only I could convince the family to give up getting Christmas gifts so I could go to Disney World at Christmas.

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I was very happy I did the package, as I wouldn't have seen it without the package. No way would I have waited 6 hours or more on my only Epcot day!

CP is wonderful! They aren't giving up Christmas gifts, they are getting the gift of Disney!!!

I did get a short video too, mostly because during the fast songs Whoopi was bopping and dancing to the music and it was pretty funny. If I ever remember to upload it to YouTube Ill post as link here so you can see it, and hear how wonderful the singers were!

Overall I very much enjoyed it, and Whoopi was fantastic. I want to say it was about 45 minutes long, and they sang about a dozen songs. I am definitely happy I did it, and would do it again on a future trip.

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Glad you enjoyed CP. I bet Whoopi, dancing around was hilarious. DW and I saw John O'Hurley (Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld) and he was excellent! When we went the week after Thanksgiving in 2010, it turned chilly the night before our CP visit and it just made it that much more Christmas-like. If CP doesn't give one a lump in their throat and get them in the mood, then they might need to check their pulse or head back to Whoville because they are a Grinch!!

Glad you enjoyed CP. I bet Whoopi, dancing around was hilarious. DW and I saw John O'Hurley (Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld) and he was excellent! When we went the week after Thanksgiving in 2010, it turned chilly the night before our CP visit and it just made it that much more Christmas-like. If CP doesn't give one a lump in their throat and get them in the mood, then they might need to check their pulse or head back to Whoville because they are a Grinch!!

Great TR. Great pics.

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I'm sure John O'Hurley was fantastic, he has a great voice! It was pretty warm during the CP I saw, but still fantastic. And I agree about it putting a lump in your throat.

Once the candlelight processional ended I really had to use the bathroom. I knew there would be a mad dash so I quickly made it out of the theater and to the restrooms at American Adventure. There was already a line out the door and down the walkway of about 30 women when I got there. Thankfully the line moved quickly and I was soon done. Good thing too, as the line was 3 times as long by then!!!

I wasn't hungry, even though it was after 6pm by then. I did peek into Liberty Inn and saw the gingerbread house in there.

When I walked out I could see across the lagoon and see SSE and the Christmas tree. I really, really love this picture!

I started walking around the lagoon again, heading thru Japan, Morocco and France, taking some pictures of the pavilions as I walked by.

I stopped at the fountain in France to get some pictures with a PP. The first one is mine, second was the one she took.

I walked across the bridge next and snapped some pics across the lagoon of the other countries.

I walked around in United Kingdom for a little while and took a lot of pictures in there.

I wandered over to Canada and Off Kilter was singing. I listened to them do a great cover of "Taking Care of Business", then wandered around Canada for a bit.

I sat down in the area up the stairs before you go to O'Canada. My cell phone was dead and there was an outlet there so I charged it for a bit while sitting. I tried calling the phone in the box by there, but only one family came close to it and they just walked away when it started ringing.

I also texted Steve at that point to ask if he knew if he was coming to join me at all. He had told me earlier in the week that he knew he wouldn't be able to come earlier than the weekend with how busy he was. When I talked to him that evening he said he still had a lot to get done the next day and was busy Monday with meetings, so he didn't know if he would be able to join me at all. I was pretty upset thinking he wouldn't get to join me at all, and that combined with not feeling good just made me not want to be there anymore. I wound up sitting there for another half hour before I decided that I at least wanted to stay for Illluminations, especially since I'd get special seating with the pass from the CP package. I got up and started making my way back into Future World.

I made my way up to the front of the park and found a PP taking shots in front of Spaceship Earth. The picture taken with my camera didn't turn out so great, a little too much flash!

But the picture he took was much better, and I love the effect of the people in the background being blurred.

I took one shot of SSE all lit up....

...then made my way back into Future World, first stopping at another lit up fountain, this one dancing.

The spot for Illuminations viewing was Showcase Plaza, in between the two shops on either walkway to WS. I walked back up the middle, getting a picture of the Pluto topiary.

I had to show my sticker and I was let in the roped off area for viewing. I went over to a cart and got myself a drink and a tub of popcorn. There was a line but it was only about 5 minutes until I got my things and then found a spot to sit. There were no chairs or anything, just the area roped off to pick where you wanted to be. I actually found a fantastic spot, right in the middle, at the top of the incline where the people in front of me wouldn't be blocking my view at all. I was very happy with it!

My view of the lagoon:

I was right in front of the Christmas tree too, so I turned around and got a picture of it from about 15 feet away.

I talked to the family next to me for a bit, and listened to the cars on Test Track still be tested, even at that time of night. At around 8:50pm they dimmed the park lights and lit the torches, it was almost time!!!!